


Manhattan Double Bluff

by Neverever



Category: Avengers (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Marvel 616
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Hydra (Marvel), M/M, Miscommunication, Secret Identity, Spies & Secret Agents, SteveTonyFest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-29
Updated: 2014-10-12
Packaged: 2018-02-06 17:53:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1866990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neverever/pseuds/Neverever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In 1952, Tony Stark is at the top of his world and life couldn't be better. Then he crosses paths with Steve Rogers, a mysterious World War II vet, and events spiral out of his control.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Stark Meets Rogers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [deadeyeboy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadeyeboy/gifts).



> A gift written in honor of Steve/Tony Fest for [onebilliondollarman](http://onebilliondollarman.tumblr.com).
> 
> This was meant to be a short fic at first, but I had a lot of ideas that wouldn't go away. And my beta told me to expand the story and I (mostly) do what my beta tells me to do. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

The post-war years had been very good for Tony Stark. Unbelievably good. Every division of Stark Industries was doing gangbuster business from spiffy washing machines and efficient refrigerators for the American consumer to workhorse jet engines and innovative airplane designs for aerospace industry. And Stark was building his own personal empire of a Fifth Avenue mansion, a cottage in the Hamptons, and a new modern beach home in Malibu, a fleet of fast American and European cars, and all the women he could handle and then some. No complaints for Tony. No complaints at all.

But there was one cloud in his blue skies. When he arrived at work one Tuesday morning, he found a grizzled Nick Fury, with eye-patch, lit cigar and cheap suit, taking up space in his office. Fury waved his cigar at Tony as he set down his briefcase on the black leather and chrome couch set against the wall. Tony finally acknowledged him and immediately stepped out of the office.

“What’s going on here, Bambi?” Tony demanded.

Seated at her typewriter, Tony’s long suffering appointment secretary, Bambi Arbogast, sighed. “Colonel Fury was here this morning, Mr. Stark, before we opened. Miss Potts tried to get him to schedule an appointment and leave, but he’s a rather insistent man.”

“Fine,” Tony replied through gritted teeth. He set his shoulders, drew a deep breath, and headed in for the inevitable battle. 

This time, he took his time hanging up his hat, checking his stack of mail and settling in at his large Italian-designed desk. The desk and his office furniture were expensive, cool, and so modern that it made people’s heads hurt. Which was the intention. 

Fury watched him carefully. “Satisfied, Stark?” he growled around his cigar.

“Not until you’re gone.” Stark had never trusted the master spy Nick Fury, especially after seeing the man in action during the war. And now the man was back in his life, older, even more grizzled, greyer around the temples, the wear and tear of the years making their mark, and stinking up his office with his cigar. Stark pushed an ashtray across his desk towards Fury.

“I’ll get to the point then. Remember HYDRA?”

“Too well,” Tony replied. Of course he remembered HYDRA, the über Nazis that had made the war pure hell for him as he tried desperately to out think and out match their fanatical scientists weapon for weapon. 

“Someone is shipping American technology to some new organization calling themselves HYDRA.” Fury flicked some ashes into the ashtray. His one deep brown eye coolly appraised Stark for his reaction.

“HYDRA? Weren’t they wiped out?”

“One would think, right? My intel tells me that it’s HYDRA all right. Zemo and Strucker apparently escaped the fall of Berlin and are putting the band back together again. SHIELD is working on it. But we found this doohickey on a recent mission.” He tossed a small piece of twisted metal onto the desk.

Tony didn’t want to admit that he was intrigued so he played at being reluctant to examine the evidence. His sharp blue eyes immediately picked out the Stark Industries stamp on the metal.”What is that?”

Fury huffed. “You tell me, bright eyes. What is Stark tech doing in the hands of the enemy?”

“I’m going to find out,” Tony replied darkly. “We’ve been out of the weapons business for the last year now and I mean to keep it that way.” Ever since that disastrous trip to Korea he thought bitterly, that had nearly cost him his life.

“Counting on it.” Fury stood up. “See you tonight.”

“Wait, no. I have plans.” Plans including a shapely French model and lots of alcohol.

“You do – you’re joining me and a special friend for dinner at the Havana. 7:00 sharp.”

After Fury left, Tony had Bambi call his date to say that he’d meet her at nine, glad that Fury believed in early hours. No reason to let Fury ruin his day.

~~~~~

Everybody who was anybody and then some knew the famous Tony Stark, CEO of Stark Industries, soon to be Stark Enterprises, an updated modern name for the old firm. His legend had only grown over the years since he graduated at 20 from MIT with a Ph.D. and was immediately shipped off to Europe in the fall of ’43 to fight the Nazis for good ol’ Uncle Sam with science and technology. Back from the war, he built weapons for the military and wined and dined his way through nearly all the heiresses, starlets and models on the East Coast while amassing the biggest fortune among the rising technocrat class.

He had met Fury and his Howling Commandos in some rundown café in a tiny war-ravaged town in France on his way to the front. Fury shook his hand and said he expected big things from the Baby Stark being sent to the front lines. As they left the café, Stark looked up and saw the Human Torch and Toro blaze past them, followed by Captain America on a motorcycle in hot pursuit and Bucky taking up the rear. Fury clapped Tony hard on the back, nearly knocking the wind out of him. “That’s a real sight there, ain’t it, lab boy?” Tony never forgot his first glimpse of Captain America. 

Ever since then his life had been tangled up with Fury, and Tony couldn’t really say no to the man. Even if Fury’s super-secret spy agency failed Tony when he was kidnapped on a routine Department of Defense tour in Korea back in ‘50.

When Tony arrived at the club, there was already a small crowd outside waiting to be allowed inside. He immediately attracted attention. Besides being Tony Stark – an attraction in itself – he had dressed for maximum impact with the bespoke dark suit showing off his tall, lean body to best affect and a rich red silk tie highlighting his olive skin and blue eyes. He sensed the flash of a camera bulb when he kissed a giggling Broadway starlet on the cheek. Pepper would not be pleased when the photo appeared in the papers.

Fury was already seated at a table. Unfortunately he was in the back of the dining room, far from the stage featuring a jazz act and farther still from the actors, singers and New York elites that Tony usually would be sitting with. The red-haired hostess who looked like she had been poured into her low-cut black dress left Tony and menus at the table.

“You’re late,” Fury pointed out as he lit up a cigar.

“Busy man here. I was barely able to squeeze this meeting in,” Tony said as he reviewed the wine list. “Speaking of busy, where’s your special guest?”

“He’ll be here,” Fury grumbled. Tony didn’t know Fury particularly well, but he could tell that Fury was concerned that his friend had not joined them yet.

They had exhausted what little baseball knowledge Tony had and were on their second round of drinks by the time Fury’s friend joined them. A golden god with guarded blue eyes walked up confidently to their table. Tony sat up a little straighter, not knowing at all what to expect now. He had never seen a man like that outside movies and artwork. Neither had the women at the tables around them, based on the very appreciative looks aimed at the man.

Fury barely looked up from his drink. “You’re late, Steve,” he growled.

Steve sat down at the table and unfolded his napkin. Both Fury and Tony noticed that his hands were scraped and bloodied. “What happened?” Tony asked.

The man shrugged. “Sorry about that, Nick. I was interrupted on my way over. Would’ve been here sooner but I ran into a HYDRA agent.”

“Guess we’re telling the world now,” Fury said with an edge to his voice.

Steve glanced over at Tony. “You told me that was why we were meeting with Mr. Stark here. That you told him about why we are meeting.”

“Right. Well, Tony, meet Steve Rogers, your new bodyguard.” Fury waved the drink in his hand towards Steve.

“I have a bodyguard, already. No offense, Rogers,” Tony replied.

“Maybe I didn’t tell you the whole story in your office,” Fury conceded. “Let’s order dinner before going over the gory details.”

Even after a careful study of the newest addition to their table, Tony couldn’t figure Rogers out. He carried himself like a military man, sitting ramrod straight at the table with a polite but firm manner as if he was rarely, if ever, contradicted. But there were lots of former soldiers around due to the War, nothing particularly unusual there. He likely bought his grey suit and bland tie off the rack at a department store, so he didn’t have money. Rogers also seemed a little lost, a bit uncomfortable in the club, like he’d never really been to a big-city nightclub. He didn’t act like the usual rabble who worked for Fury, so maybe he was a new recruit. But Fury wasn’t exactly treating Rogers like one of his SHIELD agents. Something wasn’t adding up here and Tony didn’t like it.

Tony managed to be polite during the appetizers. But his patience wore thin by the time the steaks arrived. “So, what’s all this about?” he asked.

Fury narrowed his eye, annoyed with Tony’s impertinence. “What did you find out about that piece of junk I gave you?”

“It’s ours all right. I’m having Pepper trace the paperwork and serial numbers. I think the parts were stolen or repurposed surplus. Got my attention though.”

“Good,” Fury replied. “Because things have changed since this morning. And you’re a target – that’s why I’m bringing in Rogers here.”

Tony snorted. “Hogan does all right.”

Ignoring him, Fury continued, “You have that charity shindig on Friday night, right, at the mansion. Lots of the high and mighty of New York. Perfect cover for a kidnapping.”

“What are you saying now, Fury? That I’m the target? Like that’s going to work.” Tony glanced over at Rogers who was listening intently to them. The man had an unexpected intelligence in those baby blues.

“Right. And I’m dead certain that HYDRA is going to do it during your party. So that’s why I’m bringing in Steve. Hogan is a good man, but he’s not up to this on his own.”

Tony spent the rest of dinner protesting Fury’s plans, but Fury was not a man who backed down easily, if ever. Eventually Tony gave up when Fury finally conceded that the Rogers’ detail would only last until the party and that was all Fury was expecting. Tony could work with that. 

At the hat check, Tony turned to Steve. “So, Rogers, when do you want to come by the mansion? Friday morning?”

Rogers cocked his head to the side, as if sizing up Tony. “I should come by Wednesday or Thursday, in case we find security problems.”

“My bodyguard Happy Hogan handles all that.” Tony did not like Rogers’ implications. And Rogers had a way of putting him on edge.

“I could talk with your man if you prefer that,” Rogers offered.

A blessed solution to the problem of having to deal with the unwelcome and unsettling Rogers. Tony jumped on the offer. “Call my executive secretary Pepper Potts tomorrow morning. She can make the arrangements for you.” He handed Rogers an embossed business card.

As he put on his grey fedora, Rogers said with sincerity, “I look forward to working with you, Mister Stark.”

“Same here,” Tony replied, without the sincerity. He shook Rogers’ hand and noticed that strangely, the scrapes from earlier now looked healed over. Tony could not have imagined the damage he’d seen earlier.

He watched Fury and Rogers leave the club. Then Tony stalked over to the lobby phone booth and called Pepper. “Find me everything you can find on a Steve Rogers,” he ordered. “And as soon as you can.”

Fury might trust Rogers, but that didn’t mean that Tony had to. He had at least learned caution in his old age of twenty-nine.


	2. Dead Man Walking

For a dead man, Steve felt pretty good this morning. He had a warm bowl of oatmeal, a newspaper full of news, and finally something to occupy his time. He probably couldn’t complain much about his life. His rented room was nicely furnished, better than what he had before the war. He had money in the bank, food in the cupboards, and plenty of free time. Except he couldn’t tell anyone his real name, or what he had done in the war, or contact anyone from his past life. 

One late mission in April of 45 led to an exploded airplane, his best friend Bucky dead and Steve frozen in the ice. His old friend Fury’s people found him in the North Atlantic ice in late 51. But the damage was done. His own government had erased all and every sign of Steve’s existence as Captain America and then some. For all his heroism, Medal of Honor and legend, a live Steve Rogers was a major inconvenience to a government very invested in perpetuating the Captain America name.

So Steve returned home from war to the nothing he had come from, with even less, and was expected to tow the line. Everyone thought he was dead, and the government planned to keep it that way regardless of Steve’s feelings on the matter. Fury threw him the occasional job, keeping him happy and making him feel like he was earning his keep. Steve liked working with Fury but he wasn’t really cut out to be a secret agent. For one thing, he was a lousy liar.

Lots of news in the morning paper. He listened to the April rain as he scanned the front paper. He gritted his teeth. Steve was not particularly impressed with the current Captain America and his crusade against hidden communists. In fact, if he thought about it, he got extremely angry. Better to flip over to the baseball scores. Or read the report about a flying red and gold robot over Manhattan.

Sighing, he checked the clock on the wall. He had a meeting over at the Stark mansion on Fifth Avenue with Happy Hogan at 9 sharp. He would prefer not to get off on the wrong foot with Hogan.

On his way to the mansion, he thought how much he appreciated meeting Tony Stark again. He remembered very well the wild-haired, mouthy college kid who had an insatiable curiosity. Jim and Bucky had threatened to tie Stark down and put a gag on him if he kept insisting on getting in a jeep to the front. Steve knew the kid, who wasn’t much younger than him really, would have been killed in an instant. But every time they pulled him out of his latest scrape, Steve could only smile.

Steve, in his grey fedora, stood in front of the mansion gates, one of the few private homes left on Fifth Avenue. He rang the gate bell and was permitted into the mansion. As he waited patiently for Hogan, he thought of all he had heard about the grown-up Stark. He had heard the stories that Stark was now more arrogant than even Namor, which was saying something, too smart for his own good, and in general an elitist pain in the ass. But that’s not what Steve had seen the other night at dinner.

Hogan, who carried himself like the ex-boxer he was, greeted Steve with no enthusiasm. “Guess you’re here for the dime tour,” he said.

~~~~~

Tony believed that the best thing about being alive in 1952 was the constant feeling that even greater discoveries were just around the corner. And he was deep in the thick of it all, creating the technology that would create that better greater future. His love of technology and firm belief in the future had saved him before and would save him again if he needed it. Though right now, tolerating Fury’s man was his future.

And he could barely hide his frustration when he found Rogers fiddling with the window locks in the library with Happy looking on. Happy appeared to be listening intently as the all-business Rogers discussed the vulnerabilities of the first floor windows. Guess that was something they had in common.

“I’ll have the windows fixed this afternoon,” Happy concluded.

Straightening up, Rogers turned and said, “Hello, Mr. Stark.”

“Tony, please,” Tony repeated. Even though Tony could not quite think of the other man as Steve yet. “Satisfied with the mansion’s security yet?”

The tall blond stepped away from the window. “I think we’re almost done,” he replied after a silent check with Happy. “Though I haven’t seen your workshop yet.”

“It’s in the basement. Happy can show you later.”

“I’ve made an agreement with Steve here that he’ll come here Friday morning and stay overnight,” Happy said.

“I don’t think that HYDRA will attack during the party. That’s too obvious, but we’ll have to see. HYDRA is not subtle.” Rogers continued.

“If the tour is over, then I can drive you –“ Happy started.

“Thank you but I’ll be fine with a cab,” Rogers concluded.

As they turned to return to the foyer, Rogers stopped in front of large framed, signed photograph of Captain America hanging on the library wall. “Are you an admirer?” he asked.

“Saw him in action in the war, actually,” Tony stated quietly. “I met him when I was on the German border in late ’44.” Tony thought back to Captain America fighting off the Nazis attacking Tony’s little band of scientists and soldiers in their encampment near the front lines. He had no words to describe the war hero’s strength and courage. Maybe Tony was a little bit in love, but then, who wasn’t with Captain America? He had saved a lot of lives besides Tony’s.

“Well, he’s probably back from Korea now,” Rogers mused.

Tony had his ideas about that, but he didn’t say anything, even to Pepper and Rhodey, because he’d sound crazy. He had met Captain America after the war at some event commemorating V-E Day. Excited to see his hero, he shook the guy’s hand, looked him in the eye and just before thanking him for all the saves, he knew immediately that it was not the same man as the man he had met in the war. The current Captain America was a fraud and not the original Cap at all. “Yeah, probably is,” Tony replied vaguely.

Rogers said, “World War II was something. Tough fighting and never sure if we were going to win it.”

Startled, Tony asked, “You fought in the war? You don’t look a day over 25.”

The other man glanced over at Tony, a mischievous glint in his blue eyes. “I look good for my age.” And boy, did he ever, Tony suddenly thought. The simple brown suit hung in just the right ways on Rogers’ broad shoulders and narrow waist. 

“See you on Friday, Rogers,” Tony replied. He’d have a day to shake Rogers out of his head. Because he had not seen anything yet he could trust. And he didn’t like the other thoughts he was getting either.

~~~~~

Tony returned to the office after a quick lunch at home. As soon as he hit his office chair, Pepper swept in with her clipboard and files. The perfect executive secretary, she was a wonder of efficiency, especially now after she worked her way out of her suffocating crush on Tony and was walking out with Happy. “So what do you have for me today, Pep?”

“Do you want the updates on the Maria Stark Foundation Charity Dinner? The latest newspaper articles on Stark Enterprises? Or what I’ve been able to find on Steve Rogers, or really several Steve Rogerses?” She took her usual seat off to the side of Tony’s desk.

“Several Steve Rogerses?”

She started to flip through the papers on her clipboard. “Yes. There are several in the country – it’s a more common a name than you might expect. And none quite fit the description you gave me.” She tapped her pencil eraser against her lips. “There’s one possible candidate.” She found her notes and continued. “I found a Private Steve Rogers. Enlisted in 1941 – I couldn’t find a discharge date. He was based at Camp Lehigh until sent to Europe and had a very undistinguished career, I guess, no medals or citations at all. He barely shows up at all in any records except for when he served once as a chauffeur for Eisenhower.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it. I was lucky to even get that much in such a short time,” Pepper pointed out. “A miracle.”

“It’s good that you work for me, with your miracle-working, and not for the competition.” Tony frowned a little. “I wonder how this Private Rogers ended up working for Fury then, hmmm. Fury likes the go-getter, gung-ho types.”

Pepper nodded. “But I don’t think he’s the same guy as your new bodyguard. This Steve Rogers was born in 1920 – he’d have to be about 32 now. And you said your Steve doesn’t look older than 25. It doesn’t seem to match up at all.”

Tony took a deep breath. “There could be any reasonable explanation – fake name, falsified or incomplete records, any number of things.”

“Do you want me to keep working on it?”

“Yes, see what else you can dig up. There has to be more.”

“Okay. Now about the latest in the news about Stark Enterprises. Lots of support for the new name.”

Tony turned his chair to look out the window over the New York skyline and let Pepper read the news to him. Anything to promote his company, he thought. He smiled when she reported on the number of news stories about the amazing flying red and gold robot recently seen in New York. “Repeat that,” he said.

“Which one? The stories are all the same. Flying red and gold robot.” Then Pepper put the folder of clippings down in her lap. “Do you have anything to do with this, Tony?”

“No! What would I be doing with a flying robot? If I was involved, the Stark name would be stamped all over. And no one could miss it.”

Pepper sighed. “Please approve the latest changes for the Foundation dinner.” 

“That’s all in your capable hands so I leave it to you,” Tony replied in his most charming tone. “By the way, make sure that Rogers gets a copy of the guest list. Check with Happy – they seem to be bosom buddies now.”

She gathered up her files once she saw that Tony’s mind was somewhere. “Remember your 3 o’clock.”

“Yeah, of course,” he replied distractedly. She left and closed the door.

Tony tapped the desk thinking about the mysterious Rogers and why Fury would ever have a man like that working for him. Rogers didn’t seem to be spy material. He’d have to ask Happy about him. Maybe there was far more behind Fury’s reasons for having Rogers in his house. Tony had his secrets he’d prefer that Fury not find out.

Then he glanced the news clippings Pepper left behind. He smiled, reading the favorable press for the robot. Which really wasn’t a robot. Just a man in an iron suit. Not that anyone could tell from the fuzzy photo in the paper. Hmm, he needed to work on the left boot of the suit. He didn’t like how the jets worked last time he went for a spin.


	3. Charity Gala

Armed with a clipboard and a shoulder bag full of paperwork and contracts, Pepper arrived at Tony’s mansion early Friday morning, prepared to do battle with the caterers, movers, and the band for the charity party. Most of the work had been completed over the past week, but Pepper believed that perfection could be accomplished with the right amount of hard work, and she was the woman to do it. 

Tony found her deep in conversation with the director of the Maria Stark Foundation and his secretary in the ballroom. Dressed chicly in a slim pencil skirt and tweed jacket with her red hair in a French twist, Pepper was going over the arrangements point by point. He stepped up to Pepper and said with a smile, “Everything going well, I presume?”

“We are all set, Mr. Stark,” Pepper said crisply.

“I can’t imagine anyone else doing a better job,” Tony replied. The others nodded. “I need to steal Pepper away for a moment though. Hope you don’t mind.”

Once out of earshot of the others, Pepper asked bluntly, “What’s going on, Tony? What have you done now?”

Tony laughed. “I love how you trust me. But I need you to do something for me.”

“Well, okay,” Pepper hesitated. “What is it?”

“Remember that security detail Fury assigned? Could you check in on the guy and see that he has a decent suit for the event? I don’t want him to stand out like a sore thumb, and I wouldn’t put it past Fury to send Rogers in unprepared and underdressed.”

Pepper said nothing, but there was a tightening around her mouth and eyes that expressed her opinion of Tony’s request. But she was a superbly professional executive secretary and could handle any challenge. “Where is he?”

“Rogers is supposed to arrive shortly,” Tony replied. “Jarvis would know, so you could start there.”

“I’ll do my best. But I’m not a miracle worker.”

“Then stop making miracles, Pep. By the way, did you find anything more on him?”

She shook her head. “Nothing more than what we discussed before. There’s just the name and serial number I got from SHIELD.”

Tony frowned a little. “Is that standard for SHIELD agents?”

Tucking a pencil over her ear, she replied. “Yes, actually. That organization barely even acknowledges that people work for them when you ask.” She glanced over at the visibly nervous director and the secretary. “I need to get back to work, Tony.”

“Fine, go. And when you see Rogers, fix him up. I’ve got to get back to the workshop.”

“Tony, you have just the morning. I need you this afternoon for some interviews. And I’m putting my foot down on this. I’ve been planning this party for three months now, and we have to do right by the Maria Stark Foundation.”

Tony checked his watch. “You know where to find me when you need me.”

On his way to the workshop, he found Rogers, pressed, dressed and ready for serious business, in conversation with Jarvis in the hallway. Jarvis was leading the way to Rogers’ guest room on the second floor in the back of the house. Rogers had a small piece of luggage and a large black artist’s portfolio.

“Good morning, sir,” Jarvis formally greeted Tony.

“Morning, fellas,” Tony replied. “I see that Jarvis is settling you in for the day?”

Rogers nodded. “Jarvis has been very kind.”

“Part of the job there, buddy. I won’t get in your way. Oh, and in case you haven’t met her yet, my secretary, Pepper Potts, is in the ballroom.”

Tony watched Rogers gracefully follow Jarvis up the back stairway. He had a lot of questions. What was the deal with the portfolio? Was Rogers really that same lackluster private Pepper dug up? Why has Fury chosen Rogers out of all the SHIELD agents Fury could have assigned? Tony narrowed his eyes. Maybe it was worse than that. Maybe Nick had sent the kid to spy on him. He would have to be on his guard around the unsettling man. Even if Rogers was perfection in a suit.

~~~~~

Rogers found Tony in his basement workshop a few hours later. He ran a hand through his slicked-down hair, messing it up a bit. Tony liked the tousled hair look on him. “Wow,” he said in excited amazement, taking in the sight of Tony’s dozens of projects scattered around the workshop. 

Tony pushed up the shield of his welding helmet to get a better look at the gawking Rogers. He put down the welding torch and shoved the gauntlet he was working on to the back of the bench out of sight. “Impressive, isn’t it?” he said with pride. “My life’s work.”

The SHIELD agent ventured warily into the workshop. “I keep hearing about the amazing things you build, um, Tony. A true genius.”

Tony replied, “I’ve been working with machines and electronics since I could walk. Look over here, this machine here is the real future.” He led Rogers to a large gray machine covered in dials and switches that filled one wall of the workshop. He tapped it. “This is a computer. Alan Turing gave me some specs and suggestions at the end of the war before I returned home. This is the future and the future of Stark Enterprises. It makes complex calculations in mere seconds. I couldn’t do some of my more advanced work without it.”

“Guess we don’t have to worry about the future if men like you are in charge of it,” Rogers said sincerely. Tony was caught off guard by Steve’s dazzlingly bright smile. Wow, he could definitely stand to see more of that.

Tony shrugged. “If I can get my work done, that is.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I should be going then,” Steve replied bashfully. “I wasn’t aware I was interrupting.”

Jeez, Tony shouldn’t feel bad at that at all. Not at Steve’s sudden awkwardness instead his usual confidence. “Hey, you’ve got a job to do, after all. Making sure that the smart guy isn’t knocked off by the Evil Guys in Green and Yellow, right, Steve?” Tony babbled.

Steve nodded. “I’ll have to keep an eye on this room then. Fury could be wrong and the HYDRA infiltrators are really after your technology and not you. No offense, Tony.”

Back down to earth. “Everyone wants to steal Stark tech,” Tony replied grimly as he sat back down at the welding bench.

“Then I’ll leave you to it and see you before the party tonight.”

Tony watched Steve leave the room, admiring the view. He should be on his guard around a man whom on paper he shouldn’t trust. The mystery was only deepening. Steve was all earnestness, naivety and sincerity on the surface, at odds with his confidence and overall bearing, as if he had real fighting skills and knowledge about HYDRA and other terrorists. Could someone with Steve’s accomplished air be the same as that nondescript Private Rogers that Pepper had found? Tony had worked with men like Steve who had fought in wars and there was certain sameness to them all. Steve fit and didn’t fit in with those men at the same time. And it was aggravatingly irritating to Tony that he couldn’t figure out the Rogers puzzle.

He could spend all afternoon turning over the problem of Steve Rogers over and over and get no closer to the answer. And Tony didn’t entirely like how his knees felt a touch weak whenever he saw Steve’s bright blue eyes. And he certainly didn’t need the stray thoughts of how attractive the man was. Tony needed to focus on the reasons Steve was there, not get distracted by the handsome temptation.

Setting aside his questions for now, Tony retrieved the gauntlet from its hiding place, rolled up his sleeve, and put it on. If his computer was impressive, wait until the world saw his new repulsor tech. 

~~~~~

After putting in a solid hour of work, Tony was pleased with his progress on the gauntlet and the repulsor now seated in the palm. He set the gauntlet down gently with the other parts of the armored suit he was building. He had to stop before Pepper came down and found out exactly what he had been up to these past few months. He suspected that she wouldn’t be that supportive of his “building a mechanical suit to fight supervillains” project. She’d had been so upset over his surgery after Korea.

Back in his bedroom, Tony looked at the grease marks and slight burn on his thumb. A quick splash of water wasn’t going to clean this mess. He showered while Jarvis laid out his latest designer suit with three suggested ties on his bed. A shave and beard trim, some aftershave, the gold Rolex and matching cufflinks later, Tony presented the very picture of the rising business tycoon loved by Life and Look magazines. He was ready to take on the New York glitterati.

There was a knock on the door. Obviously not Pepper, who would have come in with or without permission. “Come in,” Tony shouted from the bathroom.

Steve walked in. The breath caught in Tony’s throat as he looked over Steve spectacularly decked out in a tux perfectly tailored for his body, his well-fitted attire highlighting the strong lean lines of his body. Pepper was getting either a Paris vacation or a major bonus this year, her choice. “I just wanted to check in with you, Tony,” Steve stated.

“Fine, fine. No sign of HYDRA yet, I gather,” Tony said. Steve seemed bashful suited up in black tie, and Tony was surprised at how enticing his shyness was. He wondered how easy it would be to make Steve blush.

“Seems clear. I’ll be shadowing you during the party. But you won’t know that I’m there.”

“All part of the spy business.” Tony adjusted his cuffs. Steve, for some reason, hung around the door, unsure about venturing into Tony’s personal territory. “You don’t seem to be a spy, though. I thought maybe a hired hand. But Fury doesn’t do the mercenary thing. Well, usually, that is.”

“Bring that up with Nick – he might tell you,” Steve replied with a touch of steel in his voice.

Tony took Steve’s statement as a challenge. “Maybe I will. I like to know the people I’m working with.”

Pepper came rushing in. “Thank goodness you’re ready. The Maria Stark Foundation board of directors are here.”

“Showtime,” Tony said. He gave Steve a raking look as he passed the mysterious man. And received a cool analytic review in turn. “You do your job, I’ll do mine.”

“Understood.”

~~~~~

From his earliest days as a Stark, Tony had learned to work the press. He knew how to time a press release, manage a press conference, find the opportune moment for a magazine article on his life as a playboy millionaire, and present the perfect smile to use for pictures. He usually had reporters eating out of his hand, with a charming grin, an exclusive, or a picture in Miami with a famous actress. And that meant that they wouldn’t run the blurry picture of him at a dive in a part of the city he shouldn’t be in, or the blind item about the wrong sort of people in his hotel room. They all bought into Stark’s image. And he gave them what they wanted.

Tonight wasn’t any different, he thought, as he looked over the gathering crowd. And even though he had learned through experience that there were people who wanted him dead or to bend him to their will, Tony Stark was not in fear of his life in his own home, tonight of all nights. Fury had been known to be wrong before. 

The conservatory in the back of the mansion was filling with his guests for the cocktail hour, women in their couture gowns fresh from Paris and New York runways and men in their fashionably tailored tuxedos, all eager for the highlight of the year’s social calendar. Pepper dashed about fussing over the arrangements, making sure that the event went just right. She had changed into a designer gown, a treat for the night, but was still on duty. The Maria Stark Foundation director was not looking any more relaxed now that the gala dinner was underway. 

With a few musicians playing soft, jazzy music in the background, Tony worked the room. A few words about Ike’s presidential campaign with a state senator there, a quick conversation about the stalemate in negotiations in Korea with a business rival over here, and a spirited discussion of Yankees versus the Dodgers with anyone interested in baseball by a table with canapes and other hot hors d'oeuvres. Always including a plug for the Maria Stark Foundation charities. 

On duty, Steve hovered around the edges of the room trying to be low key. Tony noted how he commanded attention even with his quiet, yet charismatic presence. No way was this man an average SHIELD agent -- Fury would have hammered anything noteworthy out of the guy years ago before putting him on duty. Guests were constantly engaging with Steve, asking questions, starting conversations, even flirting. Tony felt a flash of jealousy when one young woman nearly falling out of her dress somehow got Steve to let her touch his bicep.

Before he could interrupt, Pepper tapped his shoulder and reminded him that this was just the cocktail hour, dinner would be served soon in the ballroom. In good spirits, she went over the small neatly printed list in her manicured hand. Tony nodded to everything she said, while he watched as Steve finally untangled himself from the pushy heiress. “It’s going great so far, Tony,” Pepper added.

“Good, good. Dinner in a half-hour?”

“Yes, I have your speech for the dinner remarks. I’ll get you then. Go back to your guests,” she replied, pushing him back to the crowd.

With a glance back at Steve’s calm and unreadable demeanor, Tony threw himself back into his job as host of the charity dinner. He was very good at making money and that talent was needed tonight for the Foundation. So far the night was going perfectly and Tony expected it to end perfectly as well.


	4. Interlude

Steve knew there were at least two other SHIELD agents in the conservatory, maybe more. He could see Agent Thirteen mingling in the crowd with an assigned date, and Contessa Valentina working her magic with a group of eager admirers in a corner. Having already located the blind corners and defensive weaknesses, he studied the room with a critical eye. He wished that they weren’t taking so many risks with this large a party. But you had to take the job as it was.

He glanced over at Tony reigning over the room like a movie star. Oozing charm and cleverness, Tony exchanged quips and glad-handing his guests, a glass of bourbon held nonchalantly in one hand. Cary Grant had nothing on this man, thought Steve. He smiled and nodded at the passing guests while trying to be as low key as possible. He waved off a waiter offering a drink.

Although Tony was dressed to the nines in a bespoke tuxedo, Steve could still see the skinny, barely older than a kid Tony, head to foot soot and ash, arguing with anyone who’d listen that he could pull off miracles with his next bomb or grenade. Once he had to pull Tony out of a pile of debris when an experiment went wrong. Determined to fight for his ideas and another chance to prove himself, Tony would complain about a reliable source of chemicals or the right kind of metal, but never about having to try again. 

Admittedly, Steve yearned to see a hint of the scrappy, enthusiastic kid he had rescued in the war in this adult Tony. Something had changed Tony, something profound. Steve couldn’t figure if it was age or something else. Idly, he thought about the metallic object he saw Tony hide in his workshop when he came in.

Decked out in sparkling jewelry, her blonde hair in an elaborate updo, Agent Thirteen sashayed over to Steve, pretending to be a slightly drunk debutante out for the evening. Once close, she said, “There’s nothing yet.”

“Nothing?” Steve frowned. “But Fury had intel –“

“He’s never wrong. But Val and I haven’t seen anything.” She leaned in, as if flirting with Steve. “It’s just an ordinary charity event.”

He ran over the schedule of events in his mind. “It’s still early. This is just the cocktail hour. Maybe just before dinner? Or during the speeches?” What would he do if he were in charge of the HYDRA operation?

Running her hand along his bicep, Thirteen said, “That’s true. But we’ve checked out everyone from the waiters to the guests. I’ll report in when I get a chance.” She smiled at Steve. “I have to get through dinner with Simmons. He’s duller than dishwater. Who are you eating with?”

“I don’t know. All I know is that my table is nearest Stark but not the same table.”

“Right. Of course. I’ll check in about an hour.” 

A little bell rang indicating that dinner was ready in the ballroom. Steve lingered, watching the talkative guests flow out of the conservatory towards the ballroom. Pepper was stationed at the door answering questions while Happy shadowed Tony, caught up in a group of businessmen and their wives. Nothing unusual there. 

The sound of metal crashing to the floor filled the room. Steve whirled around to find the source. A musician sheepishly picked up a fallen music stand. It was going to be a long night, Steve thought ruefully.

~~~~~

As he had arranged with Happy, Steve was seated at a table near Tony so he could keep an eye on the man. His dinner companions included a couple of Foundation trustees and lawyers with their wives. Steve had not expected the conversation about current movies and Broadway shows. One of the women could not stop talking about Singing in the Rain, which had come out two weeks before. Then the table had a lively debate about Gene Kelly and his other films.

Half listening to the conversation, Steve studied the room. Nothing unusual or out of the ordinary as far as he could tell. He observed Tony’s table, watching Tony entertain his guests with amusing stories. Briefly Steve thought he would prefer to be there at the table with Tony than where he was. Not that he didn’t like to talk about movies, but he was drawn to Tony and his brilliant smile. But Steve was here on a mission and he needed to focus on that, not the fluttering in his stomach when he thought of Tony.

Forcing his attention back to the table, the man next to him said, “But the flying robot is real.”

Another woman replied, “I think it’s a publicity stunt. Advertising a movie or something like that.”

The lawyer next to her said, “The latest news report is that he stopped a robbery in progress.”

“A crime-fighting robot then.”

“With jet boots.”

During the dessert course, Steve noticed an older man, dressed well enough though his tuxedo had seen better times, make his way towards Tony’s table. People at the surrounding tables greeted the man as he passed, so he was known to other guests. It could be someone just wanting to talk to Tony. Happy didn’t seem to be anywhere close, and he had informed Steve that he knew all of Tony’s enemies on sight.

Reaching Tony’s table, the older man confronted Tony. “Stark, what are you playing at?” he snapped belligerently.

Tony’s smile froze on his face. “Obadiah Stane, it’s been a while.”

“You outbid me for that government contract.” Stane started to wave a finger at Tony threateningly. “That was my contract, you jerk.”

Steve got to his feet just as Happy swept in from somewhere. “Come on, Mr. Stane,” Happy said evenly and firmly. 

“Let me go, I’m here to talk to Stark,” Stane insisted, twisting away from Happy’s grip on his arm. Steve stepped up to Stane’s other side.

Happy continued, “You can make an appointment to see Mr. Stark like anyone else.” He and Steve started to pull the protesting Stane away from the table and out of the ballroom. A couple of security guards met them at the back of the ballroom to escort the angry Stane off the property. Stane’s wife followed after, wringing her hands and looking very apologetic. 

Turning to Steve, Happy said, “That’s as bad as it gets for Mr. Stark. I’ve been watching Stane all evening and now he’s gone.” He slapped Steve’s back. “No HYDRA tonight, Mr. SHIELD Agent.”

Happy was right -- nothing else happened. But the lack of action during the charity dinner only made Steve more wary. If anything was going to happen, it would likely happen after the event was over. He was sure of it.

~~~~~

Tony found Happy and Steve talking in the front foyer after the last of the guests left. “Guess HYDRA decided not show up,” Tony said cheerfully as he tugged off his bowtie. He was tired from the evening and annoyed that he had been worked up over what turned out to be nothing.

“We’re going to do a sweep of the mansion. But, yes, it does look like we’re safe, Mr. Stark,” Happy agreed.

Steve looked very doubtful. “The caterers haven’t finished yet. Someone should be watching them.”

Tony checked his watch. He had to get going. “I’ll leave that in your capable hands, Steve.” He flashed a smile at the now stern agent. “But I bet it’s all clear. Until tomorrow, gents.”

As he climbed the stairs, he could feel his heart start to pound. Hmmm. He had pushed it too far tonight and needed to reach the refuge of his room.

Already wearing a stylish wrap over her dress, Pepper was waiting by his door. “Tony, are you okay?” she asked alarmed. She put the back of her hand against his forehead. “You feel clammy.”

He pulled back. “I’ll be fine,” he said through gritted teeth. 

“You don’t look fine,” Pepper fussed.

He was in no mood to talk. “You did a great job tonight, Pepper. Go enjoy your weekend. I’ll see you Monday,” he said bluntly.

Pepper paused a minute, obviously debating whether to push Tony. She took a deep breath. “I’ll see you Monday, Tony.” She patted his arm. “Take care.”

“I’ve got a couple of dates with an actress and a heiress. What could go wrong?” he replied with a forced smile.

~~~~~~

Sprung from his tuxedo and in a bathrobe, Tony sat comfortably in his dressing room, a small and very private room connected to his large walk-in closet. As comfortable as he could be, sitting in a leather chair with a glass of bourbon, plugged into the wall. 

He sighed as he felt his pacemaker’s battery slowly powering up. A rotten, lifelong souvenir of his unfortunate trip to Korea, his life was now ruled by the need to power up the pacemaker that regulated his heart and the powerful magnet that repelled the shrapnel in his chest. 

He flipped listlessly through a stack of magazines, yawning as he went. Feeling drowsy, he closed his eyes and started to fall asleep. A loud, strange noise startled him awake. Tony shook his head, thinking he had imagined it. He picked up a magazine. Another thudding noise shook the walls of his dressing room.

“What the hell?” Tony said out loud. He looked for the house intercom. Then he heard the noise of gunfire and immediately panicked. The pacemaker hadn’t been powered up enough and he couldn’t risk running down to the workshop. Then it got worse when Steve ran into his room and shouted, “Stay down, Tony, it’s HYDRA!” 

Tony could hear Steve dragging furniture. Probably to barricade the door, he thought. He couldn’t let Steve find him like this, at his most vulnerable.

“Tony, where are you?” Steve shouted again. He opened the closet door. “Tony, are you in here?” he asked.

“In the back. I’ll be out in a minute,” Tony answered. He scrambled to find suitable pajamas. “Just a minute.”

But Steve had found Tony’s secret room and came to the door. Despite the emergency, Tony admired how Steve looked, with his hair mussed, black bowtie untied, shirt open at the collar, a becoming flush on his face. He could just imagine Steve in very different circumstances looking exactly like that and Tony liked the idea a lot. But now was really not the time for fantasies. 

Tony staggered to his feet and recovered some of his confidence. If asked about what he was doing, he planned to bluff his way through it. “What’s going on?” he asked as casually as he could in his pajama pants and open bathrobe with the battery recharger at his feet.

“HYDRA. They’re in the mansion.” Steve stared a minute then turned away.

“How did that happen?” Tony asked incredulously. 

“I suspect they were the caterers.”

“I can’t imagine that Pepper hired Food by HYDRA for the dinner.”

The agent explained, “They likely kidnapped the real catering staff and waited until they thought your guard was down. Or they were cleaning crew coming to clean up. Not sure.”

Tony fished his pajama top from the mess on the chair. “Do I have time to change?”

Steve did a double take and stared at Tony. He ran his hand through his hand through his hair and then rubbed the back of his neck. “Happy is contacting SHIELD and I’m going to get you out of the mansion. So, yes, get some clothes on.”

“A little privacy perhaps?” Tony asked. Not that he minded, as Steve apparently couldn’t take his eyes off a half-naked Tony.

Startled, Steve replied. “I’ll -- I’ll be back in the bedroom.”

Once dressed in a pair of khakis and a polo shirt, good for the golf course and maybe the right clothes for a home invasion, Tony joined Steve in his bedroom. He was right -- Steve had pulled his dresser in front of the door. He wondered briefly how Steve had managed that since the dresser was enormous, made of solid wood and packed with clothes and accessories. He tested the dresser and could barely budge it.

“Step away from the door, Tony,” Steve insisted. He was sitting in a strategically placed chair with a good view of the door and the bedroom windows. “Don’t go near the windows either.”

Tony sank down on the bed. “So what’s the plan, bodyguard?”

“I’m thinking,” Steve admitted. Then he turned to Tony. “Is there anything I should know, Tony, before I decide on my plan? Especially about what you were doing back there in your secret room?”

“No,” Tony replied hesitantly. Then repeated firmly, “No.”

“Tony, you were plugged into an electric outlet in your wall.”

“That was, um, the radio. That’s what I was doing -- listening the overseas business news. With my radio. In my lap. Must have dropped it when you yelled.”

“Right,” Steve replied. He sighed. “It’s going to be a long night.”


	5. Trapped

Damn it, his perfect night was rapidly going down the drain, Tony thought. HYDRA agents were rampaging through his house. Happy had escaped to warn the police. The pacemaker was half-charged and his suit three floors down and locked away. And, what was worse, the hot blond in his room was not mostly naked in his bed, falling under the spell of Tony’s seductive patter. Instead the blond had barricaded them both behind a dresser and was plotting something violent.

And if he survived the night, Tony was dedicating his time to fixing the pacemaker because he was never going to be dependent on charging his heart through an electrical outlet ever again. 

“What’s your plan?” Tony asked the pensive SHIELD agent. “Because I need to get to my workshop.”

“We should go to my room.”

“Is that an invitation?” Tony asked, cocking an eyebrow. “Come up and see your etchings? We don’t have time for that unless you have a hidden gun in your luggage.”

Steve groaned. “Tony, please.” He jumped to his feet. “Look, we need to get you to safety and out of the mansion. That’s the main goal here.”

“ _We_ are going to my workshop, which I have to remind you is completely vulnerable to the rampaging HYDRA agents out there,” Tony replied through gritted teeth.

“Happy told me about your security procedures for your workshop. Unless they have AIM with them, they can’t break in,” Steve answered. He was now studying the bedroom window, assessing how easy it would be to escape through it. 

“Those windows overlook the interior courtyard. The guest bedrooms or the second floor sitting room are better for escaping to the street. If that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Hmm,” Steve replied distractedly. He opened the window, letting the crisp night air seep into the room. Then he stuck his head out the opening and continued to investigate whatever he was investigating.

Now Tony was pissed. He lived here, it was his house and his life under attack, and Mr. SHIELD Agent was not listening to him. Tony was not going to put up with that, even if Mr. Agent was as handsome as they come. “Look here, buddy, I don’t know who you are or what you think you are doing. But if we go through that window, we could break something and get caught. Which I don’t think you want any more than I do.” He tapped his foot with impatience. “And it’s after midnight and ---”

Steve held up his hand to silence the fuming Tony and cocked his head to the side as if he heard something. “HYDRA agents are on this floor. It’s only a matter of time before they try the bedroom door,” he said in a low voice.

“Well, why haven’t they tried it yet?” Tony asked in an equally low voice.

The blond shook his head. “Maybe they did while you were hidden in your secret room.” He stepped back from the window and shut it. “Is there a back door to your closet? Maybe we could get out that way.”

“No. That room was leftover space from when my father renovated the mansion in the ‘20s. It’s the remains of a passageway blocked off when they moved a staircase to make room for the master suite.”

Steve frowned as he studied the bedroom. “There are eight HYDRA agents. Two are in the kitchen, the other six are trying to find you.”

“Where are your fellow agents?”

“Fury’s people? Gone with the guests.”

“But you’re here. Can’t you do something secret agent-y to get the agents to come back?”

“I don’t work for Fury -- he called me in to protect you.” Steve studied the ensuite bathroom. “I don’t have any control over his agents. Or the means to get them back here.” He ran his hand through his hair and admitted, “The agents on duty didn’t entirely believe me when I warned them that this could happen.”

Tony sighed with frustration and looked up at the ceiling. “We can’t stay here, because they’ll find out we’re hiding any minute now.”

“There’s always the window, Tony. I just have to get you out of here and out the window, across the courtyard and through the library to the conservatory and garage.”

“Not while they can steal my technology. I’m not going to let that happen,” Tony snapped. “How often do I have to repeat myself like a broken record? And didn’t I warn about the window already?”

“You can’t expect a red-and-gold robot to come save you, if that’s your plan,” Steve replied. 

“I think the world of that robot, and, yes, I think Iron Man would be an asset right now, if not the way out of here.”

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. “Iron Man? Is that what people are calling the robot?”

“Um, I read the papers, just like you. That’s where I saw the name.” Tony walked over to the bedroom door blocked by the dresser and put his ear to the wall, trying to hear if HYDRA agents were in the hallway. “Wait a minute, if there are only six guys, that’s not exactly an invasion, we can take them. Let’s just take our chances and get to my workshop.”

Steve pulled him away from the wall. “You’re not trained to fight and I can’t keep them from kidnapping you if I’m fighting off HYDRA.”

“It’s kidnapping now?” Tony asked with an edge. He was not going to be kidnapped ever again if he could help it.

“Fury thinks that HYDRA wants to take you out, and I think that they want to kidnap and force you to make weapons for them.” He put a large hand on Tony’s shoulder. Then he said, in the most sincere and earnest tone this side of Captain America Tony had heard in years, “I’ve got the feeling that you don’t trust me, but I have a lot of experience with this enemy, and I will do everything I can to make sure you are safe, Tony. Please just let me do my job.”

Tony took a deep breath. Steve sounded so believable and honest and he wanted to trust him. The warmth of Steve’s hand was more than comforting. He started recalculating his plans. He could work with Steve until he could make a break for the workshop. But the window was still a bad idea.

Steve interrupted his thoughts. “We have to make a decision about what we’re going to do. We’re on borrowed time now.”

Tony’s mind was racing. “Okay, we can’t go out the bedroom windows because we’ll get trapped in the courtyard.”

“But we need to get out of this room. They came in through the kitchen with the caterers and the janitors. So we have to avoid the kitchen.”

“Right.” 

Just then someone jiggled the door handle. Steve exchanged a quick look with Tony, and they both headed towards the bathroom. Steve shut the door and leaned heavily against it. Tony started tapping along the opposite wall. They could hear distant shouting and then pounding.

“I give the dresser about fifteen minutes,” Steve stated.

“Enough time,” Tony replied. “Found it. There’s a structural weakness in this wall from the renovations. No wall studs, just open space covered over with a plaster patch job.” He threw himself against the wall, ramming his shoulder to dislodge the old plaster. 

“Wait, let me take over. I’m sturdier. Watch the door.” Steve shoved against the wall and the plaster started to crack. 

Tony could hear the bedroom door start to break. “Steve!”

“Almost there.” Steve finally broke through the weak spot in the wall. “What’s on the other side?”

“Should be a guest room.”

Steve tore into the plaster wall on the other side and kicked out the rotted wood supports. Grabbing Tony’s wrist, he pulled Tony through the hole. They ended up in a guest room as Tony predicted. Immediately, Steve grabbed a heavy dresser and shoved it with ease to block the hole to Tony’s bathroom. 

“Hooray for shoddy contractor work,” Tony said flatly.

“What now?” Steve asked, not missing a beat or gasping for breath.

Tony knew they had to make the most of the time Steve had bought them. A quick look around the room did not inspire him in the least. If given enough time, he could build some traps and maybe a bomb. “We go?”

Steve moved quickly in his effortless, masculine way to the guest room door. He carefully opened the door and examined the hallway. He shut the door as quietly as he could. “There are three HYDRA agents breaking into your room. I’m sorry about your dresser.”

“I was planning on replacing that old furniture anyway. It was hideous.”

“There’s no margin for error. Just follow me. Any questions?”

“A kiss for good luck?” Tony asked, admittedly half joking.

Tony was stunned at how gorgeous Steve looked when he laughed. Then Steve actually leaned over and kissed Tony’s forehead. “Let’s go.” Tony felt a little weak in the knees.

They walked stealthily into the hallway. Three men clad in green and gold were battering down Tony’s bedroom door and pushing aside the dresser to get into the room. Flattening their bodies against the wall, Steve led them towards the main stairs. Tony held his breath as they made good progress. They might just evade the HYDRA agents.

Suddenly, Steve seized Tony’s arm and pulled him into the sitting room. He held Tony against the wall, covering his body, tucking Tony’s head into his shoulder, as a blast wave blew past them. Steve slammed the door shut. Once safe, Tony surprised by the strength in Steve’s arms looked into his sky blue eyes. “What was that?” he gasped.

“AIM energy gun,” Steve replied. He brushed Tony’s black hair out of his eyes.

Tony’s eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat, noticing a flushed Steve glancing down at his lips. Taking a chance, he put his hand on Steve’s arm, pulling him closer, and kissed him desperately. Steve returned the kiss with fire, holding tightly to Tony. 

Breaking off with a regretful sigh, Steve rested his forehead against Tony’s. “How are you holding up, soldier?”

Tony shivered at Steve’s words. He had heard those exact words said the exact same way seven years ago. By Captain America. Could it be a coincidence… ? Or could Steve actually be Captain America? And if he was, how did he end up here?

Steve was already in motion. “Come on, Tony. We have to go now.” 

Tony shook himself out of his daze, still feeling the heat of Steve’s lips against his, pushed down his curiosity about Steve, and followed after.


	6. Flight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for posting late -- family vacation and bad hotel internet adds up to a much later chapter than preferred. Thanks for sticking with this story.

He shouldn’t have kissed Tony, Steve immediately thought. He’d wasted precious seconds. But Tony had felt so wonderfully solid in his arms, his red, plush lips inviting, and he couldn’t help himself. And the way that Tony’s head fit perfectly into the crook of Steve’s shoulder triggered deep feelings inside Steve that he couldn’t ignore. He shook his head, determined to get back his focus.

He knew the wooden door was not going to hold off the HYDRA agents. He surveyed the room filled with the latest in fashionable Scandinavian furniture – all slender and sleek wood veneers – with dismay. As much as he appreciated the aesthetics of the room, he missed the old-fashioned, heavy wood furniture from the bedrooms. Those pieces were excellent for blocking doors. 

Tony started to drag the record player console away from the wall, and Steve jumped into action to help Tony grab the one heavy piece of furniture in the room. He quickly pushed it in front of the door. Tony dumped a pile of records on top of the console, including a couple of Bob Hope’s recent albums. Steve’s eyebrow went up. Tony shrugged. “Happy’s a big fan.”

Steve jogged over to the window while Tony piled the cabinet television in front of the console. Steve almost did a double take at the casual way Tony was using the rare television set as a barricade. The whole scene was surreal, with expensive furnishings flying everywhere and littering the floor.

Tony was right about escaping from the second floor windows. The sitting room was facing Fifth Avenue, but even if they got to the ground in one piece and uninjured, they would still have to make their way to the street over the large open lawn under a full moon. They’d be sitting ducks. 

According to his reckoning, there were three agents on this floor and two in the kitchen. And so he had to account for the remaining three agents. The odds were good that he could get Tony to the security of the workshop and if the workshop was being watched, well, he could take out the agents in short order. If he only had his shield ….

Time ran out. The HYDRA agents were starting to pound on the blocked door. “Steve,” Tony called out.

“We need to get you to your workshop,” Steve said.

“ _Finally_ ,” Tony said with exasperation. 

“But we have to get out of here.”

“Back door – behind that bookcase.” Tony pointed to a corner of the room.

They raced to the corner. “Who blocks a door with a bookcase?” Steve asked bluntly as he tipped the bookcase over, books spilling across the floor.

“The decorator said it was temporary,” Tony replied. “The door didn’t fit her vision of the room, so …”

The bookcase went crashing to the floor as Steve ripped the door open. “Tony, I’m going to buy us time – you get to the workshop and I’ll cover your back.”

They ran into the hallway. Steve could see the door to his guest room a short distance away. He could duck in and grab the shield. 

Tony went for the stairs just as the HYDRA agents noticed that they were escaping. A few shots from the energy guns hissed over their heads and scorched the wall behind them. “You can do the home invasion, but you can’t even aim right?” Tony snapped.

The three HYDRA agents looked at each other and then rushed towards them. As he went around the hallway railing, Tony stumbled against a table covered in knickknacks. He grabbed a vase and threw it at the pursuing agents. He reached for a statue as an agent tripped over the broken vase. Steve took advantage of the distraction and knocked out one of the HYDRA agents. The other agent recovered in time to aim a gun at Steve. Steve threw a roundhouse kick to knock the gun out of the man’s hands. The gun went flying and Steve leveled the guy. The other agent fled.

He would have to run that agent down, Steve thought grimly. He began to walk over to his room, mulling over his options.

Tony called after him, “What’s wrong with you, Rogers? You’re going in the wrong direction.”

“Just a minute.” He dashed into his room and retrieved the artist portfolio.

When he emerged, Tony groaned. “Steve, really, all that effort for that?”

Steve looked down at the portfolio in his hand. He was tempted to tell Tony exactly what was in the case besides his sketchbook. Hiding his identity as Captain America had been so ingrained in Steve that it was hard to think of revealing it. He hated lying to a partner. “I’d hoped we’d have help by now,” Steve said.

“Happy,” Tony said worriedly. He ran his hand through his hair and looked at Steve.

God, Tony looked amazing, Steve thought, with his tousled hair falling into his blues eyes. The memory of the kiss reminded Steve exactly what Tony could do with his hands on Steve’s body. “Um, yeah. Uh.” Steve bit his lip, then checked his watch. It had been too long since he had heard from Happy. “We’re on our own. They probably stopped Happy.”

“Stopped Happy? You mean that they likely have him tied up somewhere.” Tony said angrily. “Those HYDRA guys are playing on my last nerve.”

Steve suggested, “Workshop?”

“Right. To the workshop.”

Steve stepped in front of Tony, lifting the portfolio. Tony pushed him to move faster. As they went down the stairs, Steve counted again. Two agents out of commission on the second floor, two agents in the kitchen, assuming they were still there. And now four agents unaccounted for, including the one that just got away. He could handle four agents.

Steve jumped when the grandfather clock rang, the bells singing out that it was 2 am. Tony chuckled behind him. But as Steve turned to say something, he paused. He could hear vague rustling the closer they came to the foyer. He grimaced and held Tony back from running towards the workshop.  
“What now?” Tony huffed.

Steve held a finger to his lips. He picked his way down the remaining steps and couched down, flattening himself against the railing. He could see HYDRA agents moving towards the kitchen. There were now more than four agents on this floor.

Tony crouched down beside him. Steve could feel Tony’s warm breath on his ear and his body leaning against his. It was distracting in all the worst ways. “What’s wrong?” Tony whispered in Steve’s ear.

“HYDRA agents. I’m thinking that they are blocking our path to the workshop.”

“There’s a hidden entrance to the workshop through the library,” Tony whispered again. 

“Okay, wait for my signal.” Steve remained in a low crouch as he ventured towards the library. He could not see any agents in the hallways off the foyer. He waved to Tony who immediately rushed over to Steve.

They briskly walked to the library, sticking closely to the hallway walls. Once in the library doorway, Steve swept over the room with a practiced eye. It was secure and HYDRA agent-free. Tony pushed past him, recklessly not waiting for the signal. Before Steve could say anything, Tony smiled and rakishly winked. For second, Steve didn’t know if he wanted to shake sense into Tony or kiss him into oblivion. He settled for blocking the door. 

“How much time do you need?” he asked.

Shrugging, Tony replied, “As much as you can buy me. I have to find the door and then figure out the lock. I’ve only used this way once before.”

“Right.” The one advantage they had was that the library was full of furniture. Steve immediately went for the heavy late Victorian desk. He pushed the desk over the antique rugs to block the main doors. He piled up the two leather-covered library chairs to the side of the desk.

Tony was clearing off books from a corner bookcase, groping under the shelves feeling for a catch or lever. “One benefit to this whole miserable evening is that I’ll finally have to finish remodeling the mansion. Maybe I could bill HYDRA for the cost.”

Leaning against his pile of furniture, Steve laughed. “I’m serious, Steve. This is all their fault.” Tony grunted. “There, got it.” 

The bookcase swung open, creaking and shuddering with a low groan, revealing a plain metal door. “I knew that this would come in handy some day.” Tony opened a small hidden panel on the door which covered over the keypad lock. “Hmmm, what was the code?” He tapped his chin lightly.

Steve walked over to the windows. Again, it was tempting to break out of the mansion and make a run for it. But it even more clear from a study of the view from the first floor windows what a disastrous plan that was. The full moon light exposed everything in the outside lawn.

He walked over to Tony, stepping over the papers, books, and desk accessories strewn in the path of the desk. He noticed a number of bills, hastily drawn mechanical plans, contracts, a business card from a Dr. Donald Blake, and an odd drawing of a robot similar to the famous Iron Man. He bent over to pick up the drawing to examine it closely.

Tony was quietly cursing under his breath as he tried a few different codes. “This one has to work. Wish I had written it down. Thought I’d remember it when I needed it. Idiot.”

Steve smiled fondly at the increasingly agitated Tony. There was something irresistibly attractive about Tony with a flushed face and the glow of sweat-slicked skin. Steve watched him struggle with the keypad with a bright smile on his face. 

Then there was noise at the door. Steve grabbed for the portfolio just before the energy blasts and bullets burned through the door. A stray shot singed his wrist. He jumped in front of Tony to block the ricocheting shots with the portfolio. “Tony,” he warned.

“Working on it,” Tony replied. He began to furiously punch numbers into the keypad.

The next energy bolts shredded the fabric-covered portfolio, breaking the thin plywood case. Steve tore open the broken case, gripping the handles of his shield as their only protection from the assault. HYDRA agents were dismantling the door and the barricade with rapid efficiency.

Tony crowed triumphantly as the metal door slid open. “There! Got it!” He grabbed Steve and tried to push him through the door into the dim passageway, lit by shop lights. “Move it. We’re not totally safe yet – there’s another lock, but I dare those goons to get through that door.” 

Steve refused to move, and instead pushed Tony into the passageway. “Go, go, go. I can hold them off. You go ahead.” He wrenched the heavy metal door back into place. Then he took a defensive position behind the closed door, holding the shield in front of him.

Then Tony looked down at the shield on Steve’s arm. “Oh.” He looked up into Steve’s face. “Wow. You are the real Captain America, aren’t you, Steve?”

Steve gulped. “Yes.”

With wide eyes, Tony solemnly nodded and took a deep breath. “I have to thank you –“ There was a large thud at the metal door behind them. “But later, after we reach the workshop.” 

“You go, I’ll follow once you get the door opened.”

Tony ran towards the workshop while Steve braced for the oncoming attack.


	7. Siege

Nearly out of breath from running, Tony cursed whatever made him install a keypad lock on the workshop backdoor. Ugh, ugh, ugh. He couldn’t remember the code or even a beginning of a code. Clearly he needed to have put more thought into how he was going to access this door in case of a real emergency, not ducking out of a date or meeting. He racked his brain thinking of birthdays and graduation dates.

He heard a blast in the direction of library door and then the sound of a shield crashing into heads. Steve was holding up his end of the bargain. “Uh, Tony? Any ETA on the door?” Steve shouted.

“Working on it!” What was going through his mind when he picked out this code? He could hear Steve fighting his heart out in the narrow passageway. Tony never thought he’d be in a situation again where Captain America would be defending him from HYDRA. But he guessed it had been that sort of night. A hissing energy bolt nearly singed his ear. Damn. They were getting close. 

He turned around and could barely see Steve kicking and punching pursuing HYDRA agents in the dim light. A clue began to surface in Tony’s mind. He punched the code in – the date he arrived in Europe to fight in the War. 

“Got it, Steve!” he shouted as he could feel the locking bolts retract into the door. “Come on!”

He rushed into the safety of his workshop and Steve quickly followed after, crushing the keypad lock in his wake. Tony closed the door and spun the wheel to lock the bolts into place. “That should hold them.”

“Even against those energy bolts?”

“Those are some sort of laser, I think. Not going to get through this door this time,” Tony replied dismissively. “There have been some papers lately about optical pumping, wave amplification, frequencies, and electromagnetic radiation and there are a lot of theories floating about what all that means.” He went around the workshop turning on lights, fishing for an extension cord, and wondering if he should break out the suit. “You know, it’s an interesting idea, making light waves into directed beams.” He put his hands on his hips. “Don’t know how HYDRA got there first. But those energy bolts look a lot like what the theories are predicting. I really would like to get my hands on one of those weapons.” He smiled at Steve. “Think you could get one for me?”

Steve leaning against a table with arms crossed over his chest snorted. “If we get through this tonight, you’ll have your pick.”

“Hah.” Tony found an extension cord, one of the many throughout the workshop he could use to power up his batteries as he worked. At this point, he didn’t care if Steve knew about the device powering his heart. He lifted the polo shirt and plugged in. Now he needed to start working on something to defeat the HYDRA goons once and for all.

Steve watched him with keen interest. “So now that you know my secret, are you going to explain why you need to plug into an electrical socket? You didn’t have that back in Europe.”

Tony sighed. “You remember me from the war?” He looked over at Steve who was now furiously blushing. His lips curled into a grin. “You do!”

“How could I forget? You were the mouthiest kid in the army,” Steve replied fondly.

“Still am. I never forgot you.” He liked how Steve looked so flustered and that Tony made him that way. Still had the touch even after Korea. “Ordinarily, I’d be thrilled to be locked in my workshop with a hot blond. But given the circumstances …”

“Not offended,” Steve replied, throwing up his hands. “About --?”

“Right.” Tony sighed. “It’s a long story, but here’s the short version. I got blasted by my own weapons, got kidnapped, the only way to fix my heart was a device that is a combination pacemaker and electromagnet. I have to charge up the batteries powering this device. Thus, needing to be plugged into the wall. There’s a lot more to it. But I’d be glad to share my life story over a good meal and bottle of wine later.” 

“It’s a date.”

“Really? I guess it should be, since you’ve shown me your shield and everything.”

“Tony -- ” Steve started, but was interrupted by a loud resounding thud at the door. “Tony!”

“They’re not getting in. That’s a reinforced steel door, with 3-inch plate.” Tony started getting ideas about possible traps and nasty surprises in case they did actually figure out a way in. He continued casually, “We could wait for SHIELD, you know. Like I said, no one is getting through that door. And I think if you don’t check in then Fury will probably send the troops in after you.”

Looking at the door keeping HYDRA at bay, Steve frowned. “I don’t like to wait. Not like a rat in a trap.”

“What do you suggest then? Frontal assault?” He had time for some basic exploding traps before HYDRA starting causing structural damage. He started pulling together the materials. He could make these traps in his sleep.

“No, I’ll think of something,” Steve replied. He went up to the door and carefully listened. “They’re regrouping. I counted about 15 left standing back in the passageway. I suspect an unknown quantity in the kitchen.” He then began to pace back and forth, lost in thought.

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m not keen on waiting for SHIELD either. But that’s a lot of HYDRA agents. Maybe more than you can handle.”

“I’m good for the challenge,” Steve replied confidently.

Tony went over their situation, carefully examining every part of the incident. He looked over at a watchful and deep in thought Steve still pacing fretfully. Tony didn’t like the idea of trying to wait out HYDRA’s attack and hope for rescue any more that Steve did. Given enough time, he could build anything to stop their attackers in their tracks. But based on Steve’s increasing agitation and his own estimation of how long the reinforced doors would last, he didn’t have that time. And they were at the point that either he built his exploding traps, Molotov cocktails and other nasty surprises, or suit up - he couldn’t do both.

The best solution would be to suit up and blast their way through HYDRA. Then Steve would find out. Right now, only his friend Rhodey knew that he was the man behind the robot Iron Man. And Tony was keeping that secret for very good reasons. On the other hand, he guessed that Steve might not have a lot of patience with him holding back on something that would get them out of this jam.

Steve dashed over to the main door. “Tony, how long will it take for HYDRA to break through the main door?”

“It’s a steel reinforced door too. With bullet-resistant armor.” Tony had a lot of faith in the armored doors he had designed himself. Back to the problem at hand, he knew that Steve could handle a finite number of enemy agents. Iron Man could handle a much larger number, but he had not used the suit in close quarter fighting, which was Steve’s strength.

“Is there any other way in or out of this workshop?” Steve asked. He was already knocking on the walls, looking for hidden doors.

“No, just the the front and back doors,” Tony replied distractedly. 

The workshop front door shuddered and rattled under attack from HYDRA. Steve said grimly, “We’re close to being out of time. My main objective is to keep you safe, everything else is secondary. So I need to get you out of here.” He took up a position near the front door. “You were right about the back door -- that’s holding. But this door doesn’t seem to be as strong. I can hold them off --”

“Cap, no. I can help. And there’s no way I’m letting HYDRA agents run amok in my workshop. Over my dead body.” He ripped the extension cord off. He was going to have trust Captain America --no, Steve -- with his secret. 

“I don’t want it to end that way,” Steve admitted. “Over your dead body.”

Tony stopped and turned to Steve. “Trust me. I’ve got this,” he asserted. “We’re not going to let HYDRA win.”

He kept the suit locked up in a specially designed cabinet. The attacks on the doors were coming faster and harder now. Steve rummaged through the workshop, looking anything that could be used as a weapon. He managed to unearth some magnesium flares, though Tony had no idea how he found them buried in a pile of things he thought he could use for the suit. “What’s the plan, Steve?” he asked as casually as he could while opening the Iron Man cabinet.

“There’s no time for finesse here. It’s going to be taking out the agents as they come through a door and hope that the other door holds.” Steve was eyeing some of the tools laying out on the tables. “You should stand where you can make an escape while I hold them off.”

Tony had perfected a method to get the suit on in minutes. Which they barely had. The front door frame was cracking under the constant pressure. Steve adjusted his shield on one arm and was holding a flare ready to throw in the other had. Tony snapped the final closures on the suit. “Where are you?” Steve asked, his eyes never leaving the door.

“All set,” Tony replied. He left the faceplate open.

Steve turned around and looked genuinely shocked. “Tony?” Steve asked, his mouth open.

“Iron Man. And Iron Man is not a robot, just to clear that up -- it’s me in an armored suit. It’s a long and very interesting story. But we don’t have time for that.”

“No, we don’t. Do you know what you’re doing?”

“I’ve had some practice.” He took up position next to Steve, as if it was the most natural place to be in the world.

“Okay,” Steve replied cautiously.

“Before they break through that door, do I have time for a good luck kiss?”

Steve didn’t reply but gave Tony a quick kiss. “If we get through this --” Steve started

“Then you owe me a better kiss and maybe more if I save your butt this time,” Tony finished. He flipped the faceplate down. He smiled, thinking he’d get a chance to try his new palm repulsors. “Ready when you are, Cap.”


	8. Taking a Stand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading. And here's to you Onebilliondollarman/Machine Called Man, the final chapter of your gift.
> 
> Thanks to my beta.

Steve wasted no time as the HYDRA goons poured into the workshop. He tossed the lit flare to blind the first wave of attackers. He wove and ducked as he kicked and punched out his attackers. He used the shield to deflect the energy blasts and cut through the invaders. Tony heard the crunching sound of breaking bones and the screams of pain. Steve was brutally efficient in his takedowns.

It was like shooting fish in a barrel as Tony picked off each goon coming through the back door. The palm repulsors worked perfectly. He aimed, blasted, the man spun and fell to the floor. Repeat.

Damn, where did HYDRA get all these people? And where were they coming from? Steve had been built with endurance but Tony could hear his labored breath as he smashed his shield into a feisty fighter. A long night and now this. Something would have to give and soon.

“Back door. Seal it!” Steve shouted. 

“On it!” 

Tony couldn’t weld the steel door shut until he forced men out of the way. He strode forward, blasting everything and everyone out of his way. He threw a terrified man out of the doorway into the crowd behind him. Then he gripped the edge of the heavy door and slammed it back into place. A few blasts later he blocked off the back door. 

“What next?”

He raced up to join Steve battling a new wave of HYDRA soldiers who were clearly better trained than the first wave. Steve was bruised, battered and bleeding, but still fighting hard. He smashed the shield into the face of one man and on the return swing whacked the back of another and kicked out his legs. Tony stood by him hitting and blasting.

Then Fury shouted over the noise, “Cavalry’s here!” All the remaining HYDRA soldiers dropped their guns and held up their hands as SHIELD agents flooded into the workshop.

In the chaos, Steve nudged Tony. “Go now. Fury’s going to want to detain you.”

“What about you?”

“They know about me, but you’re unknown. Go.”

He nodded and started to walk out of the workshop. He heard Fury furiously direct two SHIELD agents to stop him. But he raised a glove and the agents backed off. If they wanted a show he’d give them one. The crowd parted, letting him escape, secret identity intact.

~~~~~

Exhausted, Tony watched the clean-up operation like a hawk while leaning against a kitchen wall for support. He had already supervised the removal of the agents from the workshop in case Fury and his lackeys developed a bad case of sticky fingers. He wanted all of them, SHIELD, HYDRA, Fury out of his house as soon as possible. Jarvis was trying to put the mansion into order around the SHIELD chaos and had resorted to pointedly shooing wayward agents out of cleared rooms.

Fury in his Sunday eye-patch was directing agents and police officers as they carted off the HYDRA agents with a Captain America in full regalia standing by and watching. Tony automatically knew what would be in all the newspaper late editions and all over the radio news. A “resourceful Captain America” rescued industrialist and philanthropist Tony Stark from a HYDRA attack on his own home. Blech.

He narrowed his eyes. Really should be him and Steve in those headlines. Because Tony Stark was perfectly capable of rescuing himself. And Steve, the real Captain America, deserved the accolades, not whoever that imposter was.

An agent brought him coffee. Tony grabbed the desperately needed caffeine and waved off the overly eager agent who kept asking if Tony needed anything. He watched Steve move through the crowded room as he assisted in the clean-up. Blood-spattered, clothes torn, and despite the fatigue on his face, Steve cheerfully offered help to grateful SHIELD agents. Which was not surprising now that Tony knew who he really was. Tony admired the man in his shirt sleeves with the shirt unbuttoned at the neck, showing off a nice triangle of skin under his collarbone and a hint of his well-toned biceps. Gave Tony a lot of ideas, none of them safe to say out loud.

Chomping on a cigar and overly pleased with himself, Fury strode up to Tony. “So I see you’ve decided to join us.”

“Steve told me to stay hidden in my safe room,” Tony lied. “I’ve been assessing the damage.”

“Right. Uh-huh.” Fury replied doubtfully. After a weighty pause, he changed the subject. “Your bodyguard Happy is in the hospital -- we found him tied up outside the mansion. I’m wrapping up the operation and will be clearing out soon.”

“Good,” Tony replied shortly.

“You know, I’ll have to debrief you. Can do it now or later.” Fury buffed his fingernails on his uniform.

Tony glared at Fury. “Call Pepper -- you know the number.” He drank his coffee.

“We saved your life, Stark.”

“Correction. Steve did. And the flying robot.”

“Yeah, the robot,” Fury drawled. “About that robot ….”

“I don’t know where it came from or where it went,” Tony snapped. He finished off the coffee and inspected the grounds at the bottom of the cup. “What about Steve? Are you packing him up too?”

Fury turned to look at Steve talking to a couple of agents. “He’s not your problem. Assignment’s over so he’ll be out of your hair as soon he packs up.”

Tony was convinced that Fury kept Steve locked up somewhere when not on assignment. “What if he doesn’t leave?”

“We’re talking about Steve, right?” Fury snorted. “I don’t know what’s going through that mind of yours, Stark, but if you’re thinking of offering Steve a job …. Well, don’t count on it. You don’t know a thing about him and he works for me.”

Tony wanted to wipe the smirk off Fury’s face. He stared as Fury went up to Steve and the Captain America imposter who had apparently appeared out of nowhere. Fury leaned over to say something in Steve’s ear. And suddenly Steve’s cheerful face fell. Tony couldn’t hear what Steve said to the agents, but he left the kitchen immediately. 

Torn, Tony wanted to make sure that Fury left. But he worried about the upset Steve and whatever game Fury was up to. He had no idea what the story was with Steve but he had to do something, like rescue Steve from Fury.

~~~~~

Steve laid out the shredded tuxedo jacket on the bed in the guest bedroom. He liked to think that he had the freedom to do what he wanted. Yet, every now and then, Fury reminded him that he was being kept on a short leash. He looked around the room with regret. True, the assignment was over, but he didn’t want to leave just yet. He hadn’t had that much fun in a long time. 

And then there was Tony. He couldn’t help but smile thinking of Tony. God, it had been great to partner up with him to defeat HYDRA, having someone you could depend on in a fight right by his side. That Iron Man suit was nothing short of amazing. He wished he had gotten to see Tony fly in the suit.

Taking off the black cumberbund, Steve tossed it on the bed. He had all but broken all of Fury’s rules last night when he nearly blew his cover during the fight with HYDRA. Fury called Steve his secret weapon, and had made it clear that he didn’t want HYDRA to discover that the original version of Captain America was alive and well. 

Steve ran a hand through his hair. He looked around the room, reluctant to start packing. It had been nice to be out in the world again. Because he knew that Fury was going to put him in lockdown until the coast was clear. Maybe this time Steve would sketch that maze of cracks in his living wall. Practice made perfect after all. He could get a SHIELD agent to buy him more art supplies.

After he was sprung from house arrest, he could look Tony up again. He could use a friend. And he might get that date Tony promised.

He pulled his suitcase out of the closet. He could walk away from Fury at any time. But where would he go and what would he do? At least Fury gave him something to do with his time. Even if the house rules were stacked against him. Then he began to strip off his torn and stained shirt. 

Tony gave a wolf-whistle from the doorway. “That’s a sight for sore eyes,” he said, openly admiring Steve in his sleeveless undershirt. “I wondered where you’d gone.”

“Assignment’s over,” Steve replied. “Got to move on.”

“Yeah, but nothing says you need to leave yet.” 

“I thought you wanted to get rid of me,” Steve replied with a slight smile on his lips. 

“That was when I thought you were Fury’s man. And were here to spy on me.”

Steve frowned a little. “I guess that’s understandable.” He went over to the bed and retrieved a HYDRA weapon for Tony. “A goodwill gift,” he said, tossing the gun to Tony.

Tony examined the gun with a broad smile. “Thanks for remembering.”

“Least I could do.” Steve didn’t know what to do with himself. Tony looked handsome in his casual clothes in the morning light, but moved like an exhausted man who needed sleep and food. He knew he should say something about breakfast and getting on with the day. But he felt warm and alive with Tony right there.

Stepping into the room, Tony put the gun on the bureau. “Um, would you like breakfast or something? Jarvis is heading out to restock -- I could get him to make us eggs and bacon before he goes.” Tony came up to Steve.

Steve bit his lip. He should say yes to food. But watching Tony awoke a feeling in him, a feeling he had the first time he ever saw Tony’s bright eyes in Europe. Even a little older and with the innocence long gone, the man had only grown more fascinating since the war. “I guess. It’s been awhile since dinner.” 

Tony ran a hand up Steve’s arm and then brushed his thumb against his shoulder. “I said earlier that I’ve always wanted to thank you properly,” he purred. Steve’s stomach did a backflip. Leaving his hand on his shoulder, Tony smiled seductively at Steve and said in low voice,“Maybe you’re interested in something else other than breakfast? Considering we saved each other’s lives, defeated the enemy, that sort of thing.”

Gasping, Steve pulled Tony into his arms, pushing his hand through Tony’s thick hair, kissing him fiercely. Tony melted against Steve, letting Steve manhandle him to the wall. Tony pressed his tongue into Steve’s mouth. He was fire and light and life in Steve’s arms. Free to touch and discover, Steve loved the caresses of Tony’s clever fingers on his arms, waist, and ass. He cupped Tony’s face in one hand, feeling warm skin under his fingers. He couldn’t stop kissing Tony, pressing his tongue into his mouth, drawing out gasps and moans. 

Fire shot through his body as he felt Tony shiver in his embrace. His leg slid between Tony’s and he smiled when he felt Tony’s groan against his lips. Tony broke the kiss to kiss and lick Steve’s neck and shoulders. Steve wanted more, everything that Tony offered him. Pushing up Tony’s shirt, he skated over Tony’s abs and stomach, loving the lean muscle and the sharp hip bone. 

“Do it, just do it,” Tony urged him hoarsely, guiding his hand to the waistband of his pants and grinding against Steve. Steve undid the pants to reach between his legs. He groaned, feeling Tony growing hard under his stroking hand. “I can’t believe this -- I’ve dreamed of you, wanted your touch. Faster, damn it,” Tony growled. 

Steve felt his own cock hot and heavy and let go of Tony to palm himself. “No, don’t stop,” Tony begged. “Let me --damn, I’d love to see you naked in my bed doing this.” Tony snapped the button off Steve’s pants and shoved the pants down over Steve’s ass. He took them both in hand and stroked them hard. Lost in the sensation of Tony, Steve let Tony’s demands and praise wash over him as he sunk into pleasure, letting it all go. Tony kissed him while his stroking became more irregular. “Just a little more, you’re so good, so perfect,” Tony repeated hoarsely. Steve went over the edge and stars went off behind his eyes. He felt Tony shudder, moan, and then collapse against him, his head hitting his shoulder.

“I’m too tired to move,” Tony confessed. 

“I can get us to the bed. And that’s probably it for me,” Steve answered.

Steve gently guided Tony to the bed, pushing off the clothes and tucking Tony under the sheets. He used the remains of the dress shirt to clean them off and settled in for a long deserved sleep. He tugged a nearly asleep Tony into his arms and felt his heartbeat on his skin as he drifted off to sleep,warm and content.

~~~~~

Tony shook Steve awake. Sitting up, Steve rubbed his eyes and noticed the long afternoon shadows in the room. Tony said, “Jarvis made us dinner. Come on.”

Jarvis, always dedicated to civilized living, had laid out a steak dinner with all the trimmings in the dining room. He tut-tutted over Tony’s bruises and was pleased by Steve’s obvious enjoyment of the food. “If you need anything, gentlemen --”

“We’ll ring,” Tony replied. Once Jarvis was gone, Tony said, “He’s upset over the condition of the mansion. He’s blaming SHIELD and HYDRA.”

“Oh,” Steve replied distractedly as he hunted down the remaining dinner rolls.

“He likes you though, so he’s forgiven you for what you did to the furniture.”

“I appreciate that.” Steve felt even better with a full meal under his belt. 

Finished with dinner, Tony grabbed a bottle of bourbon and two glasses from the sideboard. “I want to show you something.” He lead Steve up to the roof where a small deck overlooked the mansion grounds, Fifth Avenue, Central Park and the city beyond.

Tony sat down on an iron patio chair, poured a glass and handed it to Steve. Steve sat down in the other chair. He drank some of the bourbon and enjoyed the late afternoon sun. They were quiet for a long time. Steve studied the scene below them.

“So. The real Captain America after all,” Tony finally said.

Steve nodded. “Fury’s people found me up in the Arctic eight months ago. I’ve been readjusting ever since – getting back from the war, finding out that no one knew I’d died and trying to catch up on the last few years.”

“Can’t be that bad. You seem to be holding up well,” Tony said sympathetically. 

Steve swirled the remaining bourbon in his glass. “Just need to find a way to be useful, I think. Fury throws me the occasionally job or two, to keep my edge.”

“Oh?” Tony put his hand over Steve’s and was glad when Steve didn’t pull it back.

Steve rubbed his thumb over the back of Tony’s hand. “So, Iron Man?”

“I built the suit to escape from my kidnappers. I survived and decided that I had something to offer the world in a positive way. Iron Man’s there to take on the criminal element and the supervillains.”

Steve smiled. He poured them both more bourbon. 

Accepting his refilled glass, Tony though for a minute. “Why aren’t you out there fighting the good fight as Captain America?” he finally asked.

Steve tensed up. “They want to stick with Burnside for now.”

“I met him once,” Tony said. “I’m not impressed.”

“The other agents tell me that he and Fury butt heads a lot. But they’re stuck with him.”

“Fury’s keeping you in his back pocket until he gets rid of the other guy. Then he’ll slip you into the uniform with no one the wiser. Clever.”

“Maybe. I don’t think that Fury would do that.”

Tony snorted. “It’s Fury.”

Steve knocked back his drink. “You’ve got a point there.”

“The thing is -- you could do better,” Tony replied. “Move into the mansion with me.”

The other man startled. “Tony, um, I’m not sure --”

Tony put his hand on Steve’s arm. “Hear me out. We worked great last night together. Why not join me in fighting the good fight? We could find you a costume or something. There’s this scientist I know and his girlfriend -- they help me out as Ant-man and Wasp. Then there’s Thor.”

Steve was stunned. “I don’t know what to say --”

“Say yes. I found you again and I’m not keen to lose you again.” Tony took Steve’s hand in his. “Even if you don’t want to join me, I still want you around. You could stay here until you find a place. Maybe stay permanently, if you like the company.”

Steve looked out at the cityscape. He squeezed Tony’s hand. Tony just offered him a home and a life. How could he say no? He looked into Tony’s blue eyes. “I’d like to see this through. I’d really like to stay.”

Tony smiled broadly. “Wasp wants to call us the Avengers. But we have to figure out what to call you though.”

“I think we can come up with something,” Steve agreed with a brilliant smile.


End file.
